Date: Thursday, August 1

Time: 9:00-10:00am Eastern time

Location:MRDC 4211

Zoom link: https://gatech.zoom.us/j/91810882878?pwd=j7IagKamdrtqUU3WPuf0f7YUOTaESh.1 (Meeting ID: 918 1088 2878, Passcode: 829158)

Jennifer Leestma

Robotics PhD Candidate

Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering

Georgia Institute of Technology

Committee:

Dr. Aaron Young (Advisor) – School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology

Dr. Gregory Sawicki (Advisor) – School of Mechanical Engineering & School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology

Dr. Lena Ting – Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology & Emory University

Dr. Christian Hubicki – Department of Mechanical Engineering, Florida State University

Dr. James Finley – Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy, University of Southern California

Abstract:

Recent advances in wearable robotics have unveiled the potential of exoskeletons to augment human locomotion across a variety of environments.  However, few studies have evaluated the capability of these devices to augment human balance during unstable locomotion, which could inform assistive devices for individuals with balance impairments, therapy strategies, and bipedal robotics.  The goal of this work was to develop and test an approach that compensates for human physiological limitations by providing faster-than-human torque assistance with a robotic exoskeleton.  To achieve this, I (Aim 1) investigated human biomechanics following a diversity of destabilizing perturbations, (Aim 2) tested the ability of exoskeleton controllers to augment stability by compensating for human latency, and (Aim 3) developed data-driven models that predict biological joint moment responses to enable the real-time deployment of this control paradigm in unknown environments.  This work introduces a novel biologically-driven exoskeleton control approach to combat loss of balance when walking in challenging, destabilizing environments.